


Cardfight!! Vanguard: R Volume One

by Blu_P



Series: Cardfight!! Vanguard: R [1]
Category: Cardfight!! Vanguard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:54:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29500935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blu_P/pseuds/Blu_P
Summary: Volume 1| Guilty Filthy SoulDisaster strikes in the United Sanctuary! After the mysterious disappearance of Blaster Blade, more unknown invaders arrive and overrun the great nation. The survivors of the six clans that once called the Sanctuary home retreat into the other Nations of Cray, planning their revolt.Months later the disgraced knight known as Arthur locates the sage Zenon and his apprentice Merlin in the forests of Zoo.Meanwhile on Earth, the year is 1997. It's the first week after Summer vacation, and the transfer student Yume Yumemiru wants to form a Cardfight Club. But she is shocked to find out that one already exists at Fuyumi Highschool, with only one member, the aloof Taichi Hironori.
Series: Cardfight!! Vanguard: R [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2166987





	1. The Once and Future

The forest of Broceliande has existed since before the establishment of the Zoo nation. The forest belongs to Zenon, the sage whom for years has existed outside and toyed with time and space – guiding the heroes of the planet Cray in the right direction. As the seasons of Cray now transitioned into Autumn the ground was layered with crisp leaves, varying in colours of brown and orange.

Before the forest was home to no one, but after the fall of the United Sanctuary Zenon allowed various high beasts to reside and replenish their numbers within the boundaries. Any wandering traveller could spot a pack of High Dogs or a team of Flame Stallions making their way to meet the ancient sage and his young apprentice.

Since losing his access to the space outside spaces, Zenon had begun to show his age.

Though it had only been a year since it happened, the man who had once looked as though he were as youthful and spry as a man in his twenties, had rapidly aged into his late seventies. He knew his time would soon be short, and so he spent his time secluded in his home teaching his apprentice everything he knew to his student.

Together, they enjoyed this peace. But in times such as these, peace is a half-life.

A great shadow, casted by the Dimension Rider Hanger consumed the edges of the forests. Twisted creatures of biological and mechanical design descended overhead, crashing into the ground or bounding from the tree to tree. Servants of an unnamed invader that took the Sanctuary with the aid of these foreign creatures. They would charge into the wood in search of Zenon; only to be met by the young mage Merlin and the lightly armoured warrior called Arthur.

Arthur clasped his blade in his hands, swinging it from his waist, cutting through several enemies at once. One of the creatures lunged forward and scraped across Arthur’s brow, marking it with three light red streaks. He pushed his body into the creature knocking it prone on the ground before plunging his blade deep into its chest.

He attempted to lift it from the chest of the creature, but it was caught on something. As more and more of the creatures began to surround him, he stepped back closer to the tree to cover his back and called out, “Witch! One of your spells would be useful right about now!”

Merlin emerged from behind tree cover. She raised her arm to the sky and with a small snap of her fingers, produced a worn wooden staff which rested gently in the palm of her hand. At the top of the staff was a purple crystal which began to glow as soon as she grasped the staff.

She then began to recite the words aloud, “Zenon’s Chapter of Destruction, Vermillion Strike!”

With the spell declared the crystal began to glow brighter, and in the clear sky a small collection of clouds emerged. There was a quiet rumble and then a bolt of lightening struck one of the creatures, electrifying it. She gestured with her staff and the lightening jumped from one creature. Merlin repeated this until all the creatures in the area we down.

Satisfied with the damage of her spell, she tapped her staff on the tree and as quick as the clouds came, they dispersed. Arthur planted his foot into the corpse of the creature he slew and was able to better retrieve his blade.

“You took way too long” he groaned, “damn witch… I could have been dead before you got here”

“Stop complaining, you’re alive, aren’t you?”

“Just barely- “

“Then shut up and let’s go” Merlin knocked her staff against his chest plate producing a faint yellow glow across his body – the three cuts on his face began to heal. “Now let’s go, Master Zenon will need our help to escape the forest.”

As she marched on deeper into the woodland, Arthur silently mouthed curses at the girl before reluctantly following her.

“I don’t know where you get off on calling me a witch, I don’t use ingredients for my spells” Merlin complained.

“You cast spells, you’re a loudmouth, your nose is big- “

Before he could continue listing his reasons, Merlin raised her staff and whacked him on the back of the head. She stormed off at a quicker pace, loudly calling curses out.

*

As the two got closer to the home of Zenon so did the hanger flying overhead. It had all but blocked out half of the sun, pulling a quilt of darkness of the forest. A large boom came overhead, and the two caught sight of something falling in the direction of Zenon’s home. They soon discovered what the falling object was – when they came to find the great hollowed oak that was the residency of the old sage aflame, and Noble Suit, Hierarmor the current leader of the Dimension Police standing proud over the blaze.

Merlin flew into a rage, she didn’t even bother to recite incantations, she produced her staff and began firing energy projectile at the automaton. It did not faze the giant, and it easily sent her flying across the clearing with one strike.

As Merlin struggled to get up, Hierarmor moved in closer pulling back its arm ready to finish her off, she closed her eyes and awaited the impact. She heard metal against metal, and the strained grunts. She opened her eyes to see Arthur taking the force of the attack and blocking it with his sword.

“Run!” he shouted, “Get Zenon, I’ll handle this one!”

Merlin nodded, dissipated her staff and ran into the blazing oak.

“You once stood for something…” Arthur muttered. He pushed back Hierarmor with all of his strength and readied his sword for another strike, “A perfect symbol of justice, unmoved by emotion, viewing the world in only black and white!”

He raised his blade back and channelled his energy through it, a basic technique taught to the knight squires during their early training, “Now you’re just an outfit, a joke of justice!”

“Keep talking big!” called a voice from within Hierarmor, “We’ve got plenty of records on you, coward!”

Arthur snapped and charged head on at Hierarmor, swinging his blade forward he released the build-up of energy, “Light Ray Sword!” A blue burst of light shaped like a crescent moon was flung toward Hierarmor, it raised its arm to try and block, but its movement was just a few seconds too slow, the light stuck against Hierarmor’s chest. Its body began to constrict and seize up, the attack had seemed to sever the connection between Hierarmor the one piloting the suit – the glow in its eyes faded.

Arthur breathed haggardly, digging his sword into the ground and leaning his body against it. And after regaining some more of his strength he pulled up his sword, slinging it over his shoulder and began to make his way toward the giant oak, feeling more reassured when he saw Merlin re-emerge with her master leaning on her shoulder for aid.

“Arthur watch out!” Merlin cried out.

Arthur turned on his heel seeing Hierarmor, back up and fully functional, swinging its fist toward him. He raised his sword to block as fast as he could, but it was too late. The fist connected with the blade shattering it into tiny fragments, the fist followed through striking Arthur in the stomach launching him in the air several feet. He landed on the other side of clearing coughing up blood.

Hierarmor turned his attention to the mages. The mechanisms turning his torso around menacingly, the head turning the same direction shortly after, its single red eye focusing on them. It stepped toward them; Merlin let go of her master slowly raising her hands up toward Hierarmor. With a few murmurs an aethereal wall held back the automaton.

Zenon held his fingers to his temple and closed his eyes tightly. He spoke to Arthur: “Now is the time, you have delayed long enough. Pull the sword from its stone sheathe and claim your birth right, it is time to walk path you have long avoided.”

The words sounded in Arthurs mind. Spitting blood as he turned his body over, he began crawling over to the sword in the stone.

Long had it been resting in the stone, placed there by a being even before Zenon’s mastery of space outside spaces. The fabled sword, whose name can only be spoken by the one who lifts it, was forged in fires of the first dragon to exist on Cray, the Cardinal Dragon, Kilgharrah – though only now a rumour it is said that he slumbers beneath the grounds where the United Sanctuary is built.

Arthur slowly pulled himself up, steadying his shaking body on the guard of the sword and examined it. The word “ancient” would be a compliment to it; cracks in the blade it appeared to be made of stone rather than any metal he had seen, covered in vines and creepers, the forest has tried to claim this relic as its own. Artur gripped the hilt, turned his head and looked back to the fight. Merlin was barley holding on to her spell, Zenon was aiding her but he too with his failing health was stretching himself thin.

Arthur cast his stare back to the sword, surprised to find another set of hands on the hilt. He looked up only to see a featureless humanoid shape formed out of glowing energy. Gazing into where the shapes eyes should be, he felt calmness wash over him; where he once found anxiety, he found security, assurance and courage.

Arthur nodded, “Right… let’s do this!”

The shape nodded back and together they began to retrieve the sword from its resting place. It was tough at first, it moved a millimetre, then a few centimetres, and finally a good inch of the blade was released from the stone. Suddenly the stone case began to crack, blue light shimmered through the breaks as more of the blade was pulled out of the stone.

With the last of their strength Arthur and the shape pulled, and when the tip of the blade left the stone an explosion of light encapsulated the two, shooting toward the sky.

A beeping noise distracted Hierarmor from its targets, turning its attention to this new development of the battle. Merlin and Zenon were equally distracted.

The light began to fade from the ground before launching into the sky and vanishing behind the rolling clouds. Only a cloud of dirt and dust remained – as it slowly began to settle on the ground again, the three could make out a shape of a heavily armoured knight, a huge sword slung over his shoulder.

Far away, the light broke through the darkened cloud cover over the United Sanctuary and struck the spire of the ruins that was once the king’s palace. There was a rumble and the light began dissipating. Deep beneath the palace, a slumbering dragon did stir.


	2. Earth 1997

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Volume 1| Guilty Filthy Soul   
> Disaster strikes in the United Sanctuary! After the mysterious disappearance of Blaster Blade, more unknown invaders arrive and overrun the great nation. The survivors of the six clans that once called the Sanctuary home retreat into the other Nations of Cray, planning their revolt.
> 
> Months later the disgraced knight known as Arthur locates the sage Zenon and his apprentice Merlin in the forests of Zoo. 
> 
> Meanwhile on Earth, the year is 1997. It's the first week after Summer vacation, and the transfer student Yume Yumemiru wants to form a Cardfight Club. But she is shocked to find out that one already exists at Fuyumi Highschool, with only one member, the aloof Taichi Hironori.

The Taiho Train Station is the third best train station in all of Japan, falling just short of Tokyo and Kyoto in the rankings. With a structure credited to foreign architects and adopting the eleven car 205-0 series trains for a local travel to smaller stations in Saidan city – similar to the Yamenote Trainline in Tokyo, offering long distance travel for those looking to go beyond the city’s borders.

During its busiest hours, an assortment of commuters will each be making different journeys on the local line, office workers and students being the largest percent of passengers.

Workers would be sitting down clutching briefcases, savouring a few more minutes of sleep before their stop was called. A collection of high school girls crowded together in a circle, flipping through the pages of popular magazine, stopping to read an interview with a new young actor, talking at a low volume so not as to disturb other passengers.

Three elementary school boys were huddled in a corner by the door, the sound of crinkling plastic being opened slowly coming from them. One of them spoke up:

“Uwaah! Double Rare!”

“Shh” another started to glance around, “be quiet”

“I can’t help it, besides” he held a trading card directly to the boy’s face, “this one is super cool!”

The third boy chimed in with a light chuckle, “Yeah but its super weak.”

“No way, you just don’t see its potential”

As the boys slipped into a debate over the card in question, the girls began to speak in hushed voices:

“Akira is so handsome” the tallest of the group said, “did you hear that he’s sponsoring that card game thing?”

“Yeah I heard about it, kind of strange for someone his age to be playing with cards, but its kind of cute too.”

Further into the carriage was a male student of Fuyumi Highschool. He wore his uniform casually, the sleeves rolled up and his brass coloured buttons of his gakuran undone just below his chest revealing a crisp white shirt underneath. He stood reading a paperback book – folded so that he could read it with one hand. The characters at the top of the page read “The Prophecies”, underneath were the various quatrains of the French seer Nostradamus.

The male student scratched the back of his tangled grey mess of hair, his eyes straining to stay open in the early hours of the morning and his brain trying to make sense of the writings in front of him. The look in his eyes suggested that he was trying to understand it but didn’t really care if he did or not.

“The next stop will be Marino, next stop Marino”

As the announcement sounded throughout the train, some workers stirring from their sleep and like the other students on the carriage prepared their bags and belongings for disembark. The train slowly came pulled into the open station, and within a few short seconds the doors opened, and a good number of passengers spilled out and made their way to the stairs leading down onto the street.

The male student stepped out into the street, slipping his book back into his bag he took out a cassette player and small headphones, placing them over his head. He pressed in the play button and began his walk to school.

Along the way he finds the usual locations and sights, a stationary shop with a few students grabbing what they need before the day starts, a small café selling a small breakfast for those who didn’t have time to eat before leaving the home, and oddly enough a game shop. Getting a good bit of foot traffic and sales despite being so early. Students, workers and younger children alike all dipping in and emerging with several card packs in hand, taking a bit of time outside the shop on benches or at the café’s outdoor tables to open them and trade between their groups.

The cards and packs all being part of the same game, “Cardfight!! Vanguard.”

He clicked his tongue, “Vanguard…” he muttered. He reached into his bag again and took out his student cap, pulling it down on his head so that the peak covered his eyes, “what a pointless game.”


	3. The Dreaming Princess who Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Volume 1| Guilty Filthy Soul   
> Disaster strikes in the United Sanctuary! After the mysterious disappearance of Blaster Blade, more unknown invaders arrive and overrun the great nation. The survivors of the six clans that once called the Sanctuary home retreat into the other Nations of Cray, planning their revolt.
> 
> Months later the disgraced knight known as Arthur locates the sage Zenon and his apprentice Merlin in the forests of Zoo. 
> 
> Meanwhile on Earth, the year is 1997. It's the first week after Summer vacation, and the transfer student Yume Yumemiru wants to form a Cardfight Club. But she is shocked to find out that one already exists at Fuyumi Highschool, with only one member, the aloof Taichi Hironori.

Yume Yumemiru has always been a curious girl. Throughout most her life she had taken an interest in almost everything that caught her attention or left her in wonder. Recently, her brain had been filled with the rising Gyaru fashion movement.

She had taken no time altering her Fuyumi Highschool uniform to her standards. Shortening her skirt, wearing more stylish knee-socks, an oversized cardigan. She had also died the tips of her golden blonde hair hot pink, which faded in three inches up her hair.

While the fashion craze was new to Saidan City, she had picked up the style back in Nara just before moving to Saidan. Despite her transferring to a new school in her second term, her openness with people didn’t make it a challenge to fall into a friendship circle.

It’s just that most of them weren’t in her class or grade.

The other students of 1-B passed the time during their morning break various ways. Some would be getting in some late studying or finishing homework for the next class after break, others propping textbooks up and taking a short nap in the cover. Most of the class had broken into smaller groups or flooded the corridors chatting away or snacking on sweets and savoury foods.

Yume was by herself at her desk flipping through the pages of a fashion magazine, making tabs with small post it notes on articles she found interesting. She placed the magazine down on her desk and folded her arms raising what little of a chest she had and closed her eyes, breathing deep.

“Oi Yume!”

Yume jolted forward turning her head over her shoulder to see who was calling her. Her lips curled upwards into a bright smile, “Tomo! And Rui-pon too!”

Two girls approached Yume’s desk. The one referred to as “Tomo” was Tomoko Kai, the one called “Rui-pon” was Rui Akari – an oddball pair of friends if you ever did see one.

Tomoko being taller than the average girl, her body was more athletically built than her friends, and always appeared to be wearing her school tracksuit jacket over her sloppily worn uniform. Short and unkempt brown hair adorned her lightly tanned skin.

Rui was shorter than her two friends, despite being two years their senior. She was underdeveloped in some departments – appearing more like a freshman in junior high. Her hair was long and neatly tied behind her head, and she wore her uniform properly, with the distinction of her Student Council armband, drooping slightly on her sleeve, warping the characters for “Vice President”.

“Would you quit it with cutesy nicknames, they’re embarrassing” Tomoko complained lightly chopping the top of Yume’s head with her hand. She pulled out the seat in front of Yume’s desk and slumped down into it.

“Yume, I know you’ve been here two weeks already but please fix your hair” Rui said. She tucked her skirt against legs and lifted herself onto the desk, “It goes against school code, you know this.”

“Come on Rui-pon! It’s my style ya know? Part of my identity!”

“Besides,” Tomoko interjected “shouldn’t you be studying for you college entrance exams? You’ve got way more to worry about than the way Yume styles her hair.”

“That’s true… however!” Rui produced a folded piece of paper from her cardigan pocket, “I’ve been accepted with scholarship, so that means while the other members are scrambling around, I’m picking up the slack.” She held it proudly in front of Tomoko’s face.

Tomoko took the piece of paper and scanned through its contents, “Wow… how lucky… pisses me off” she made a small rip in the top part of the letter.

“Don’t rip it!” Rui squealed lunging forward to snatch it back. She just managed to procure it before more damage could be done to it. “By the way Yume… the Council President wanted me to ask about you”

“What does he wanna know?”

“Your three sizes probably” Tomoko jeered.

“He isn’t that much of a lecher” Rui reached into her cardigan pocket again and pulled a small notepad. She flicked through the pages before finding her most recent entry, “Ah, here we go. A lot of the clubs have complained about you joining and then quitting on the same day; about 15 clubs all involving sports, arts, science… etcetera, etcetera. What do you have to say for yourself?” she pointed accusingly toward Yume.

Yume leaned back in her chair, looking up to the ceiling mentally trying to pluck the right words to say from the air, she turned with a goofy smile “I dunno, guess I just got bored of them?”

“You’re serious?” Rui sighed.

“You’re a strange one Yumemiru” Tomoko held her stomach as she laughed.

“Look, find a club you’re happy with and stick with it, I can’t keep up with all the paperwork.”

“You got it!” Yume smiled cheerfully.

The melodic notes of the West Minster Chime resounded throughout the school, tolling for the end of break, the three friends said their farewells and returned to their separate classrooms. Likewise, students entered the classroom and sank into their seats, napping students stirred from slumber, putting their textbooks into their desk drawers.

Yume followed suit closing her magazine and tucking it under a textbook in her desk. The teacher entered a few moments later, and the afternoon classes began.

*

The day passes like normal. For Yume, a school day in Saida was like a school day in Nara. Lessons feel as though they drag on for longer than they should, students grab they things and leave speedily to get to their after-school clubs – and those who take pride in being part of the going home club wearily begin their trails home.

Yume stands waiting outside the school gates flipping through the pages of her magazine, going through the articles she marked off earlier during break. Tomoko exits the gates not long after and taps Yume on the shoulder to get her attention.

“Yo Tomo!” Yume exclaimed, “we heading out? There’s this café I want to stop by on the way home- “

“Sorry!” Tomoko interrupted, “I got some stuff to take care of with the dojo, rain check?”

“Sure, if it’s dojo stuff it can’t be helped right?”

“Thanks for understanding,” Tomoko turned on her heel and ran back toward the school to collect her things, “I’ll definitely make this up to you next time!” she called waving back toward Yume.

Yume stood and watched until Tomoko had vanished behind the corner of the school before picking up her bag and leaving. 

Despite only moving to Saidan during the last week of summer vacation, she had already developed a good sense of direction. She knew how to get from the school to the train station that took you to the centre of town, and which one to take from there to get home. She could tell you how to get to her favourite café, but anything other than that, she would try and direct you as best she could but would most likely send you on a wild goose chase.

As such, Yume began recalling her steps from this morning attempting to mirror them perfectly to lead her to the small train station that sat at the bottom of the hill.

Unlike this morning, the train provided a bit more mobility for its passengers. Most students were attending their clubs, so the small three carriage train was sparse with only a few students making their way home. Yume found a seat and dropped herself down into it, forgetting all poise. She thought about reading her magazine, but the journey from the school to the town was too short to do any reading, so to occupy herself she simply turned around and gazed outside the window.

The train began moving slowly and began to pick up speed in only a matter of seconds, and what was once clear to Yume through the window, became a mixture of various coloured blurs. She began to lowly hum a song she heard on the radio this morning. A few moments the train came slowly to a halt as it entered the Taiho Train Station.

As disembarked, she always marvelled about how otherworldly the station felt; her first time travelling to the station from home left her at a loss – she had thought she’d taken the wrong train and ended up in some foreign country. She still felt uneasy finding her way through it and it probably took her longer than it should for her to find the exit. But she eventually made her way outside of the station.

Despite its foreign styled station, the terrain of Saidan City was the same of that of Tokyo. High clusters of buildings ranging in size and shape and colours, all squashed together. In the entertainment district, bright signs and flashy neon advertisements could be found all over, it was a gaudy combination of Time’s Square and Shinjuku.

Yume, being easily distracted, took her time examining each one as she walked by them. While they all caught her eye, their messages or whatever they were trying to sell never really sunk in. That was until she walked by one of the screens on the jumbotron.

There was a flash of pink and other bright colours, followed by a transition of cartoon moons and stars wiping across the screen, revealing a pink haired girl dressed in flashy pink Lolita style clothes. Some upbeat pop music began to play in the background as the girl began to speak:

“Yohallo, MaiMai here to tell you about this fun game I’ve just started to play!” she raised her hands into frame displaying a deck of cards, “It’s called Cardfight Vanguard – it’s like totally the most fun thing I’ve ever played, so what’re you waiting for, pick up your deck today and have fun with all these cute characters!”

Another transition wipe of stars and moons came on the screen finally revealing short animations of scenic landscapes with fantasy styled characters. Knights, dragons, mages, elves, demons and more all conducting a choreographed battle with one another. The knight went down onto his knees after being struck down by the dragon’s attack and was attended to by some heavenly medic.

Yume, though only a newcomer to Saidan and Fuyumi Highschool, she had already garnered a reputation for jumping from one interest to another. She could’ve taken an interest in anything while walking in the entertainment district.

Finally, the game title came on the full display in a hyper bold red font:

Cardfight!! Vanguard

And they were engraved into Yume’s mind.

*

It didn’t take long for Yume to make her way home. She sprinted at full speed through the entertainment district back to the train platform and boarded. She waited at the door her pulse quickening as she jogged in place.

Everyone else in the train carriage gave her a wide berth, watching her cautiously.

After three stops the doors opened and Yume continued her sprint at full speed to her home. Hopping over a fence, taking a “short cut” through the park, getting lost so she retraced her steps back to the park and continuing the normal route, she eventually arrived outside her house.

She rushed the door down, scrambled through the entry way and swung the door to the sitting room open, revealing her mother sitting on the sofa watching the television.

Breathing violently, hunched over and sweating profusely she prostrated herself before her mother and made a request:

“Mom! Is it alright if I get my allowance early?!”

There was a tense silence between the two of them. The sound of T.V, turned on to a cooking show, made Yume feel even more uneasy.

“…” She paused. She took up the remote control and turned down the volume of the T.V, finally her mother spoke, “Take off your shoes and we can talk about it”

“… Yes mom”


	4. Viva-la-Vanguard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Volume 1| Guilty Filthy Soul  
> Disaster strikes in the United Sanctuary! After the mysterious disappearance of Blaster Blade, more unknown invaders arrive and overrun the great nation. The survivors of the six clans that once called the Sanctuary home retreat into the other Nations of Cray, planning their revolt.
> 
> Months later the disgraced knight known as Arthur locates the sage Zenon and his apprentice Merlin in the forests of Zoo. 
> 
> Meanwhile on Earth, the year is 1997. It's the first week after Summer vacation, and the transfer student Yume Yumemiru wants to form a Cardfight Club. But she is shocked to find out that one already exists at Fuyumi Highschool, with only one member, the aloof Taichi Hironori.

The next day came to dawn at the Yumemiru household.

Yume rolled over in her bed as the sunlight cut through the gap in her curtains, finally settling on her back revealing her bare stomach and her mouth gaping, with the smallest trickle of drool in the crease of her mouth.

“Yume!” her mother called.

No response.

“Yume!” she repeated, “If I get up there and you’re still asleep you’re in for an earful.”

Once again, Yume turned in her bed hugging the covers into a twisted bunch. A gentle snore being her only reply.

From behind her door you could hear the quick and heavy footsteps of a furious mother – the one-woman stampede. She swung the door open, a displeasured grimace plastered across her face, and walked slowly to Yume’s bed, hanging over her slumbering form.

In one hand she held an empty saucepan and a stainless-steel ladle in the other, her default weapons; she held them over her daughter, breathed deeply and clashed the two together.

_CLANG!_

“Gaah!” Yume’s dark ringed eyes tore through the sleep as she lurched forward in bed. Breathing heavily, she looked up toward her mother, “Why… pan… urgh!” and fell back down in bed.

“Yume, I already turned your alarm off once, now get up”

Yume turned over in her bed, burying her face into the pillow, her voice was muffled “What are you saying? Its only six am…”

Her mother held out the saucepan and ladle again and clashed them together once again.

_CRASH!_

“Wah?! What the hell?”

“It’s almost eight, now get up” her mother said leaving the room.

Yume reached over to her alarm clock in denial, and took a glance at it “Look its still- “ she turned it back to face her. She went pale.

Downstairs, her mother calmly began placing side dishes into a lunch box, closing the lid and placing the box on the kitchen table. She glanced up smiling, listening to the sounds of her daughter scrambling about, getting ready for school in the short amount of time she had left. Five minutes later she came bounding down the stairs, her uniform a cobbled mess and cardigan draped over her shoulders.

She snatched up the lunch box and darted back out of the kitchen, “Thanks mom, I’ll see you later!” she called from the entry way.

“Just one minute” her mother said, arms folded.

Yume replied without looking up from tying her shoes, “Yeah, yeah I’ll get myself up tomorrow, don’t worry”

“Not that,” she licked her hand and patted down some stuck-up parts of Yume’s hair, “Can’t have you going to school with a cow lick, you have to be more grown up.”

Yume stood up straight, without the step down from the house to the entryway she would have been few inches taller than her mother. She gave her a bright smile and thanked her again before leaving for school.

*

Morning break came quickly for Yume, as she had missed a good portion of first period and waited out the remainder of the lesson in infirmary. She went to second period but ended up napping for most of the hour.

Tomoko and Rui entered classroom 1-B a moment after the bell sounded, Tomoko wearing her full school tracksuit and a cold towel around her neck. They walked over to Yume.

“Yo! Earth to Yumemiru!” Tomoko called shaking Yume’s shoulder, stirring her from her sleep.

“Oh…?” she yawned “Tomo and Rui-pon, what’s up?”

“Those are some heavy bags under your eyes” Tomoko commented as she took her usual break time seat, “Didn’t sleep too well?”

“Nope, I was up all night making these” Yume said reaching over into her bag. She pulled out several brightly coloured pieces of paper and placed them on her desk for her two friends to see. The papers had a childlike scrawl of what can only be described as an alien like entity. Around and under it, in scruffy handwriting was:

“ _Vanguard Club!_

_Taking all applications for those looking to have fun playing Vanguard!_

_For those seeking application please speak to Yume Yumemiru”_

“The hells a… vanguard?” Tomoko chuckled, squinting in attempt to decipher Yume’s handwriting.

“You’ve never heard of it?” Rui said as she took up one of the childlike posters, “I think my little brother plays it. It’s a game, right?”

“Only the best game ever!” Yume jumped out of her seat, fatigue washed away in an instant as her passion multiplied, “You use cards with awesome characters on them to battle another player, and look!” she reached back into her bag and pulled out a small deck of cards and produced one them to her friends, “They’re like stupid amounts of cute!”

“Hmmm” Tomoko examined the card, “Seems kinda lame though”

Yume pulled back the card and put it back into the deck, “Well what do you know, you’ve never played the game!”

“Have you?”

Yume stayed silent for a moment before glancing her to avoid eye contact with Tomoko, “Well… not yet. But that’s only because I started playing last night!”

“Well, we’ll see how long your interest lasts, I give it a day or two” Tomoko jested, “you want in Rui?”

“Rui won’t bet on it, she’s to preppy for that kind of stuff- “

“100 yen on an hour” Rui said hoisting herself onto Yume’s desk. She took a flier and began to read it a bit more.

“I definitely won’t lose interest, I just won’t!” Yume held the deck of cards close to her chest, “When I saw the cards on tv, it was like… I dunno, something just leapt out to me”

“So, do you want to get this club made or what?”

“Eh? Can I just do that?” Yume exclaimed.

“Shouldn’t be a problem” Rui began. “I’m basically running the council myself now, so if you’re willing to fill out the paperwork I’ll let you form the club”

Yume’s face slowly lit up like the dawn leading into the sunrise. She started to punch the air with excitement before picking up the small bodied girl and spun her around, voice almost shouting “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

“Woah! Put me down, put me down!”

After complying with her request, the three girls agreed to meet up after school to fill out the paperwork to start Yume’s Cardfight club.

The Westminster Chimes sounded through the school, marking the end of morning break,

*

The harmonic chimes signal for the end of the school day. The sky once blue is now a burnt orange as the sun begins to set, as per usual a small portion of students begin to vacate the premises while the large remainder prepare to partake in their after-school clubs.

As was prior arranged during the morning break, Yume met up with Rui and Tomoko in the student council room to begin the groundworks of forming a club for cardfighting.

The student council’s office was about size of a normal classroom, well furnished with large eight shelf bookcases lining the sides of the room. At the centre was a long wooden rectangular meeting table, with several upholstered chairs tucked underneath it. On the far wall of the council room was a bay window which gave a good view of the entire inner courtyard of the school. Placed in front of the bay window was an aged solid oak desk, with various documents left behind by the Student Council President for Rui to complete in his absence.

“It’s a bit irregular” Rui held her index finger over a shelf of binders, “usually when you form a club, you would have to find five members for it to become official, but if it keeps you in one place for a while I’ll let you set one up, so long as you can get some other members to make up the numbers”

“That shouldn’t be too hard” Yume said as she leaned against the meeting table, “Tomoko you in?”

Tomoko pulled out one of the chairs and took her usual sitting posture, “Would do if I had time, you can put my name down, can’t say I’ll show up though”

“That’s no good! I need someone to play against”

Rui chuckled while continuing to scroll her finger across the numerous files. Eventually she paused over one. She murmured to herself, _Ahh… I think this is the one_ and pulled it off the shelf. She brought it over to the table and flipped it open.

“Hey Yume, give me that form I had you fill in and I’ll put it in the folder” she began to finger through the alphabetised dividers, “You decided on calling it _Vanguard Club_ , right?”

“Yeah, I thought if we wrote it in English it would sound cooler!”

“I hope your future decisions as the club leader are much more serious” Tomoko commented sinking deeper into the upholstery. _So comfy_ , she thought to herself.

“Of course, I’ll be more serious!” Yume folded her arms and furrowed her brow as best she could, “I’ll be the most serious person to ever be serious!”

As Rui continued to flick through the dividers until she arrived at the one marked with letters from the Latin Alphabet. “Hmm?” she leaned over to look at the binder closer, “well that’s strange…”

Yume abandoned her attempts at convincing Tomoko to officially join her club and dashed around the table to Rui. “What’s up Rui-pon, something not right?”

“Well you’re not going to believe this but,” Rui unclipped the rings of the binder and pulled out the single sheet of paper, “There’s already a Vanguard club”

“Huh?!” Yume snatched the sheet out of Rui’s hands and held it close to her face to read.

Tomoko lifted herself out of the chair, “No way… that’s crazy”

“You’re telling me,” Rui continued “I’ve been a member of the Student Council since my second year, but I’ve never even heard of this club, but then again… I never really deal with the clubs, that would have been Utsui’s job”

Tomoko pushed off the table and walked up behind Yume. She placed her hand on Yume’s shoulder, “Well isn’t that some luck?”

“I’m going” Yume said abruptly as she picked up her bag.

“Hold on Yume!” Rui called, “Where are you going?”

“Don’t tell me you’re upset?”

Yume reached for the door handle and paused. “Why would I be upset?” she turned to face her friends with a great big smile plastered on her face, “There’s someone in this school that loves Vanguard enough to start a club! I’m going to go join it!”

Without another word she pulled open the door and made her way down the corridor. Tomoko ran out after her calling her name, but she was already out of sight. She poked her head through the door of the Student Council room, “Hey Rui, where is she going?”

“Well, if she’s going to join like she said” Rui took up the sheet once more “she’d be going to the annex building”

“Right!” Tomoko gave a quick bow and ran off in the direction of the annex building.

Rui lingered in the council room, recollecting the papers together and placed them back in the binder. She paused over the Vanguard Club form. “There’s a ton of club resignation forms, even third years decided to leave before their exams, that’s weird.” She glanced back to the main form for the club “So, there’s only one member” she squinted at the characters, “Hironori… Taichi?”

*

Fuyumi Highschool was established in 1936. A firm structure that had cemented itself in Saidan’s in history, having been converted into a refuge during the war. Most of the damage it had received had been repaired, though over time the building was found to be less than satisfactory when it came to safety standards. And in the mid-seventies it was decided that a new modern structure would be built to replace its former, and within three years it was complete.

It was discussed that the old building would be demolished, but after a while the idea became less of a priority and was left to stand and be used as storage for the school’s arts departments and various other clubs that couldn’t be housed in the new building. 

Yume pushed her way through the lingering students on campus, whether they were making their way home or going to their various clubs didn’t matter, she had only one thing on her mind.

 _Someone in this school knows about Vanguard_! Yume could barely contain her excitement. Even as she ran at breakneck speed, she could feel every muscle in her body shaking. She darted through the empty courtyard, hopping over the water feature, and ran straight through the back building and found herself in front of the old annex building. A simple structure, two stories high with many windows glossed over with dust or covered with black out curtains.

Her attention was drawn to the last window on the second floor. It was open wide and with the wind picking up, a thin white curtain was being drawn out into the open. Before she could enter, Tomoko caught up to her, breathing heavily.

“Yume!”

“Oh… Tomo” Yume was also out of breath, “changed your mind on joining the club?”

“Hell no! This place is just creepy”

“You think?”

“I know you’re new and all, but you have to at least know your seven mysteries”

“Seven mysteries…?”

The seven mysteries of Fuyumi High are stories with paranormal themes. Usually used for tests of courage or simply a spooky story to tell at night. They were as followed:

  1. The Never-ending stair case: If one is ever to find them selves in the science block of the new building between the hours of midnight and two in the morning,, and walk up the stairs, they would be trapped in a never ending loop or one hundred years.
  2. The Black Cat: In the annex building one might hear the familiar call of a cat. At some point they would be faced with a black cat. If they refuse to stroke the cat, it curses them.
  3. Hanako-San: In the annex building it is rumoured that the ghost of a young girl haunts the girl’s bathroom. If anybody wish to summon her, they would go to the second stall and knock on the door saying “Hanako-san are you there?” The results vary from person to person.
  4. Fortune Teller Kota: At dusk if you are lingering at the school on a Thursday, you may find a hooded child at the front entrance to the school; kneeling at a cardboard box with a glass ball placed on top. The child will ask if you seek to know your future, if you reply “yes” you are told the exact time and date of your death. If you reply “no” then he simply bids you farewell.
  5. Headless Basketball Player: If you ever find yourself in the school gymnasium after hours, one might hear a ball being bounced. If you linger and stare into the darkness, you’ll be approached by a six-foot-tall headless boy in the Fuyumi basketball team uniform. If you fail to sing the schools anthem, he takes your head and uses it for practice.
  6. Beethoven’s tenth: There was once a student who suffered through a youth of his parents forcing him to play piano. He sought to surpass the masters and so attempted to write a symphony that would be greater than the nine that Beethoven wrote. He died an unknown death, but some say you can hear the students work on the grand piano being played in the annex building. When you enter the room, the music stops and the piano seems untouched, as it has been for the past forty years.
  7. The Being from Another World: At three in the morning on the school grounds and sometimes around Saidan City you may come across a tall ghostly figure. Featureless and malnourished, it stands and stares at the sky – almost longingly. If you stare at it long enough it will notice your presence and return your stare, though there are no eyes where they would usually be. This applies to the other facial features that are missing. Eventually it nods and just walks away. Those who happen across this being often report coming into small moments of good luck.



Tomoko finished listing off the Seven Wonders that were native to Saidan and Fuyumi High School. Yume was restraining herself from laughing in an obvious fashion.

“So you… really believe in this kind of stuff?” she tittered.

“N- No!” Tomoko stuttered, “I just thought you might be, and its always worth knowing these kinds of things, they might be- “

“Meow”

“Gooofwah!” Tomoko threw her arms up, alarmed at the sudden sound. She quickly hid behind Yume shaking.

“Oi, what’re you doing?”

“Meow?”

Both girls looked down to find the source of the sound. A small black cat sat on the ground looking up at them with curious eyes. It spoke again, “Meow?”

“Terrifying!” Tomoko remarked.

“So cute!” Yume fawned over the small cat. She knelt down and took it into her arms, “Look! Look! It’s the cat from your story” she held the cat out toward Tomoko who retreated a few steps.

“K-keep it away from me”

“C’mon you know what you have to do” Yume jeered.

Tomoko gritted her teeth and winced. Reaching her hand out she carefully felt around for the cat. After a few attempts Yume guided the cats head into Tomoko’s palm which made her jump a bit, but soon after giving it a few scratches behind the ear, her heart settled.

They played with the cat for a while but soon it became restless and pushed its way out of Yume’s arms and jumped to the ground again. It gave one last meow and scuttled away into the brush that bordered the annex.

“See” Yume placed her hand on Tomoko’s shoulder “that wasn’t so bad, now was it?”

“Yeah… I guess it wasn’t that bad… at least I know I’m not cursed”

“Good,” Yume continued on her previous mission into the annex building “now you’ve just got to worry about the piano ghost and Hanako”

“Not even as a joke!” Tomoko hissed before joining her closely.

The inside of the building betrayed its exterior. Wooden floors with loose or missing panels. Thick layers of dust on the skirting. Giant cobwebs in every crevasse. As they proceeded into the building, Tomoko stuck closer and closer to Yume – so much that she couldn’t’ help but laugh to herself, much to Tomoko’s annoyance.

They made their way to the second floor which appeared like the first, all except for one area. On the far right, at the end of the corridor the dust and cobwebs were cleared away, the floorboards were newer than the others.

“I guess that’s the place” Yume left Tomoko behind at the top of staircase and marched toward the end classroom. When she came to the shoji, she gripped the handle tight and swung it open revealing the clean and tight interior of the room. Shelves pushed to the sides of the room, various documents and books stocking them. A few odd desks were pushed toward the back of the room, at the centre were three rectangular tables pushed together to form a larger mock meeting table. A student sat at the head of the meeting table, his feet on the table and his school cap pulled over his eyes.

The snap of the door shook him a bit, stirring him from his sleepy state. He pushed his cap up revealing one of his grey eyes, starring daggers at the one who disturbed him.

Yume met his stare. She had steeled herself on the way here, she already knew how to conduct herself confidently. “My name is Yumemiru Yume, I would like to join the Vanguard Club”

And without a moment hesitation, the male student spoke:

“Denied”


End file.
